Tag Archives: Williams Institute UCLA Law School

Post navigation

Stephanie Loftin, right, and her client inside the Long Beach Courthouse minutes after a judge dismissed his lewd conduct case because it was discriminatory enforcement and prosecution. Photo: Courtesy of Reba Birmingham.

Weston Clark, kisses his son Xander, 4, while he eats at their home in Salt Lake City. Fatherhood has been exhilarating for Clark, who put aside a teaching career to be a stay-at-home dad for a 4-year-old son and 17-month-old daughter adopted by him and his husband. Photo by: Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press

By David Crary, AP National Writer

Fatherhood has been exhilarating for Weston Clark, who put aside a teaching career to be a stay-at-home dad for a 4-year-old son and 17-month-old daughter adopted by him and his husband.

Yet Clark acknowledged some unease as he looks ahead to late August, when his son starts kindergarten in Salt Lake City.

“How is that going to play out for him, the fact that he has two dads?” Clark wondered.

“The fact that his parents made a decision that already makes him stand out makes me nervous — that wasn’t his choice,” Clark said. “We will fight in every way we can to make sure he’s OK.”

People living in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area rank eighth in the nation as most comfortable identifying as LGBT, according to a first-of-its-kind study from Gallup and the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law that estimates the LGBT population size in metropolitan areas, which is defined as at least two counties.

People living in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area rank eighth in the nation as most comfortable identifying as LGBT, according to a first-of-its-kind study from Gallup and the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law that estimates the LGBT population size in metropolitan areas, which is defined as at least two counties.

San Francisco has the largest number of people who identify as LGBT followed by Portland and Austin, among the top 50 metro areas. San Bernardino-Riverside-Ontario is 26th on the list.

“It’s tempting to read these statistics as if these are the most tempting places LGBT people want to live, but the statistics really tell us where LGBT people feel most comfortable identifying themselves,” said Gary Gates, research director at the Williams Institute, who co-authored the study with Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport.

In this Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 photo, former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, with stitches and a scar on his face, attends an NBA basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Yet despite the gains, activists tell the AP that many transgender Americans, far more so than gays and lesbians, remain vulnerable to violence, discrimination, lack of understanding and risk of suicide.